


Mortal Little Christmas

by HeartsInJeopardy



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Movies, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff, Hot Cocoa, Make Out Session, Mistletoe, Shortbread Cookies, Yule, nabrina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21886291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartsInJeopardy/pseuds/HeartsInJeopardy
Summary: ‘Twas the night before Christmas – and the first for Nick Scratch - but Sabrina’s holiday movie was not a good match.
Relationships: Nicholas Scratch/Sabrina Spellman
Comments: 3
Kudos: 94





	1. Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

> I hadn’t written anything in a while, so I challenged myself to finish this in time for Christmas (and actually made it before the solstice). Hopefully it’s a nice holiday gift for fans of this pairing.
> 
> This is a future fic (obviously, since it’s set at Christmas) and no I haven’t bothered to explain how all those loose ends from season two were tied up.
> 
> I do realize there seems to be some crossover between mortal holiday traditions and witchy yule traditions (at least in the Spellman house). But given Nick’s general ignorance about mortal Valentine’s Day I feel comfortable guessing he’s never had a proper Christmas with presents, etc.
> 
> Finally, I love feedback, good or bad, so please let me know what you think.

“Nick,” Sabrina called, “you forgot to set your egg timer.”

“Ah-ah, not so fast Spellman!”

Nick rushed back into the kitchen and pulled Sabrina’s hand off the timer, lacing their fingers together.

“It’s bewitched,” he explained. “It rings once the shortbread’s edges turn golden.”

Sabrina rolled her eyes. “And to think you made such a fuss about ‘experiencing Christmas like mortals do.’”

“Well you can’t expect me to completely rough it.”

“Are you also going to divine what present I bought you?”

“No magic required, I already know.”

He set a finger on his temple and narrowed his eyes at the wide, red gift box Sabrina had brought down from her room.

“Flat box, winter holiday, and a strict rule against magical gifts. It must be…” He glanced at Sabrina. “A sweater?”

She shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “Or a pair of mittens in a deceptively large box.”

They broke into laughter and Nick wrapped his arms around her.

“That’s what I love about you, Spellman,” he whispered. “You always know how to surprise me.”

The smell of baking cookies mingled with Nick’s cologne was almost intoxicating to Sabrina. He leaned in and closed his eyes, just as the egg timer began to ring. Sabrina tapped a finger on his lips and smirked.

“Saved by the bell.” She pressed a pair of oven mitts to Nick’s chest and pecked his cheek. “The cocoa’s ready and the movie’s about to start.”

She strolled out of the kitchen, stopping on her way to pet Salem as he licked cookie dough off the stand mixer’s beater.

As usual, Sabrina’s aunts had thoroughly decked Spellman Mortuary for the holidays. There were holly boughs and pentagram wreaths on every wall of the foyer. She passed the yule tree and smiled to herself, eyeing the small silver box underneath with her name on it.

Sabrina had always loved the holiday season, with its old family traditions and the good cheer it brought. But everything seemed new and special this year, with Nick back to celebrate alongside her for the first time.

She also felt pressure to make sure everything was _just_ right. To guarantee that Nick’s first Christmas made a good impression. She double-checked the set up in the living room, where her family’s ancient TV cabinet and a cozy sofa had been teleported out of storage from the basement.

At a wave from Sabrina’s hand, flames roared to life in the fireplace. She twirled her finger, making the TV switch on and its rabbit ear antennas spin. They came to rest as the fuzzy image on screen cleared around the title card for _Miracle on 34 th Street_.

“It’s starting!” she called without turning around.

Nick chuckled behind her. “Right here, Spellman, relax.”

He set a plate of cookies on the coffee table, beside two steaming mugs of cocoa. They settled together on the sofa and Nick stretched his arm around her.

“Are your aunts joining us?”

Sabrina shook her head. “Doctor Cerberus is having his Christmas shindig tonight, and Aunt Zelda has church duties.”

“And Ambrose must be at Gray’s party,” Nick mused, rubbing Sabrina’s shoulder. “I guess that means I have you all to myself.”

Sabrina picked up her cocoa mug and blew on the piping hot drink, trying to hide the sudden flush of her cheeks. After everything they had been through together, Nick could still find just the words to give her butterflies.

“Watch the movie,” she told him with a gentle nudge to the ribs.

***

Nick stretched out his neck while credits played on the TV screen.

“Did you like it?” Sabrina asked. Nick chewed his lip and cocked his head.

“Are most Christmas movies about court cases?”

Sabrina tried to hide her disappointment and switched off the TV with a flick of her wrist. “We can watch _It’s a Wonderful Life_ next time. That one has angels.”

“Like a horror movie?” he asked.

“No, no, like a guardian angel. You know,” Sabrina shrugged. “Every time a bell rings…”

Nick stared at her, his brow furrowed.

“Every time a bell rings… what?”

“Forget it.” She shook her head. “You’ll understand after we watch it.”

Sabrina stretched out on the sofa, dangling her feet over the armrest and laying her head in Nick’s lap. She watched the flames crackle in the fireplace while he stroked her white hair.

“You’re not upset that I didn’t like it, are you?” he asked.

“No,” she sighed. “Maybe it’s just not your thing.”

Nick tickled her side, making her squirm and push his hand away, giggling.

“You’re a bad liar, Spellman,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t like it, but maybe next year I’ll warm up to it.”

Sabrina arched an eyebrow. “You’d sit through it again?”

“Sure. That’s what the holidays are about, right? There are some traditions you like, some you don’t, but what matters are the people you do them with.”

Sabrina broke into a smile. “Maybe you learned the meaning of Christmas after all.”

He swept a stray lock of hair from her face. “Well, I had a pretty good teacher.”

Sabrina’s eyes narrowed abruptly. She raised her head and peered around the living room.

“Did you dim the lights?” she asked with a laugh.

“You noticed. Does that mean my charm is wearing off?”

She sat up, looking into Nick’s eyes and draping her arms over his shoulders. Across the room, the needle dropped on a record player and the first few notes of Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” drifted out. They shared a smile.

“You think you’re _so_ smooth Nicholas Scratch,” Sabrina teased. “But if you’re going to set the mood, do it right.”

Sabrina kissed Nick and he pulled her close, stroking his hands down her back. She bit his lip playfully and relished the deep, slow exhale it drew from him.

Nick’s hand gripped her thigh and he tugged her into his lap with ease. He nuzzled his face against her cheek and pressed a line of kisses down her neck. Sabrina shut her eyes and threaded her fingers through his dark hair, feeling his soft lips trail over her bare skin.

She let one hand wander over his firm body. As her fingers curled under his sweater and shirt, Nick shuddered beneath her.

“My hands cold?” she asked in a whisper.

Nick nodded but smiled coyly. “I don’t mind.”

He stretched his head forward to kiss Sabrina. She shied away and brushed her fingers against his stomach, making him shiver again. Nick laughed softly and shook his head.

His hands clasped behind Sabrina and he lay down across the sofa, pulling her on top of him. She braced herself against the armrest and giggled, turning her head from side to side while Nick peppered her with kisses.

Sabrina shimmied back and he let go, sliding his hands down her arms as she straddled his thighs. She tugged up his shirt and sweater, but when her hand slid over his toned abs Nick didn’t squirm.

“Warmed up?” Sabrina asked.

Nick’s only answer was a slow nod as he lay against the armrest, biting his bottom lip and staring up at her.

She leaned down and pressed her lips to Nick’s stomach, her gaze fixed on his dark eyes. She trailed kisses over his abs, being careful not to rush and glancing continually at Nick’s face. His cheeks flushed and he licked his lips, watching Sabrina intently.

Her hands inched his tops up gradually, revealing Nick’s firm pecs. She let her hands drift down to caress his body while her lips brushed against his chest.

When Sabrina gently grazed her teeth against Nick’s skin his cool façade broke. His head leaned back suddenly and he let out a ragged breath. One of his hands reached out to grab her wrist.

Sabrina pressed one last kiss on Nick before letting up. She sat back, tracing a finger between the red lipstick marks on his bare skin while Nick took a steadying breath.

Nick’s eyes were smoldering when he sat up. His hands cupped Sabrina’s cheeks and he planted a single tender kiss on her lips.

He set a hand on her shoulder, gently easing Sabrina back against the opposite armrest, and shifted on his knees in front of her. He pulled off his shirt and sweater then tossed them aside, keeping his eyes locked on her.

She felt her face flush and her heart beat fast as Nick leaned over her, kissing her and unbuttoning her blouse with a gentleness that belied his hungry expression. 

Sabrina shut her eyes and gripped Nick’s strong arms while his hands roamed over her body. One stroked her thigh. The other gently brushed her collarbone. His tongue flicked against her neck. His fingers curled under the waistband of her pants, sending a shiver down Sabrina’s spine.

“Oh damn,” she gasped.

Nick stopped at once. He leaned back, studying her face with a quizzical expression.

“As in bad, mortal damn or good-”

“Don’t you stop now!” Sabrina hissed.

Just as the words left Sabrina’s mouth a noisy crash sounded from outside. The couple froze on the sofa, waiting anxiously until they heard a man’s slurring voice singing loudly on the front porch.

“Ambrose,” Sabrina groaned, already buttoning her blouse.

Nick sprang up from the sofa and bumped his knee against the coffee table. He stifled a curse and lit up the room with a snap of his fingers, then retrieved his shirt and sweater from the floor.

They were still getting dressed when the front door opened with a noisy bang, but they heard Ambrose’s stumbling footsteps pass into the kitchen before heading their way.

“ _Bring me flesh and bring me wine_ ,” he sang out in an exaggerated tenor. “ _Bring me pine logs hi_ \- oh hello coz!”

Ambrose put on a wide grin as he spotted Nick and Sabrina. They sat side by side with their hands folded in their laps, facing the dark TV screen.

“I thought you would be at the good doctor’s party,” he said, swaying from side to side. “And everyone missed you at Gray’s, Nicholas. It was a Hell of a good time,” he snickered. “But you would know all about that.”

Nick put on a faint smile and shared a look with Sabrina. Ambrose glanced around the room before taking in their tousled hair and rumpled clothes.

“But,” he said with a hiccup, “I can tell when I’m interrupting.”

“Oh we were just-”

“Spare me the details coz,” Ambrose laughed.

He scooped up the remaining shortbread cookies and decanter from the sideboard before staggering out.

“Just try to stay off the Naughty List,” he called over his shoulder. “It’s not too late for Santa to change his mind.”

***

The door to Sabrina’s bedroom inched open with an eerie creak. Nick stopped undressing and glanced between the door and Sabrina, who was already tucked under her covers.

“Ghosts?” he asked.

“Aunt Hilda, I’m guessing.”

The door creaked again, as if someone pressing their ear against it had stepped back suddenly.

“Night Sabrina dear,” Hilda called from the hallway. “Ambrose told me Nick was staying over.” She cleared her throat. “So, goodnight as well, Nick.”

Nick and Sabrina both called goodnight. He waited until the sound of Hilda’s footsteps grew faint before flashing a smile at Sabrina.

“What, she doesn’t trust me?”

“You do have something of a checkered past,” Sabrina sighed. “I remember _someone_ walked in on you taking part in an orgy with my cousin in this very house.”

Nick rubbed his head and grinned sheepishly. “I had almost forgotten about that.”

He pulled on a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants then climbed into bed with Sabrina. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, while he turned on his side to gaze at her.

“I don’t need to remind you that’s all in the past, right?”

“No, _I_ trust you,” Sabrina said. She turned her head toward Nick and squinted at him. “But would you have rather been at Gray’s party tonight?”

“And miss baking cookies? Watching Christmas movies with you?”

Nick shook his head and reached out to clasp Sabrina’s hand.

“I’ve been there and done that,” he said. “I’ve _literally_ seen it all including my trip to you-know-where. But after all this time being with you still feels…”

Sabrina arched her eyebrows and waited while Nick grasped for words. After a long moment he shrugged and shook his head.

“Special. New. Exciting.” He brushed a hand through Sabrina’s hair and cupped her cheek. “Wherever you are is where I want to be. Because even the mundane is magical with you.”

Sabrina smiled warmly. She grabbed Nick’s face and pulled him into a kiss, rolling on top of him with their lips locked together.

A click sounded nearby. As Sabrina pulled away, Nick opened his eyes and found her bedside lamp had gone out. Pale moonlight fell on Sabrina’s smiling face through her bedroom windows.

“Setting the mood, Spellman?” Nick asked.

“Mm-hmm.”

She tapped a finger on his lips and her door swung closed, so slowly and gently that it made just a short creak.

“One thing you should know about me on Christmas Eve,” Sabrina cooed, “is I’m always too excited to fall asleep.”


	2. Christmas Day

“Remind me why I’m doing this again?” Nick shouted over the din of the record player.

He was crouched beneath the Spellman yule tree with his head so far under the pine boughs that no one could see it.

“It’s a tradition,” Sabrina called back. “The youngest person has to find a present for everyone under the tree. Then we all unwrap them together.”

Nick swiveled on his heels to glance at Sabrina.

“Then why am _I_ under here?”

“Because you’re _my_ guest and _I_ didn’t want to do it this year,” Sabrina told him with a wry smile. Nick pursed his lips and turned back around.

A sharp noise cut off “Blue Christmas” mid-note. Sabrina turned to find Ambrose has slammed the record player shut. He was scowling, supporting sunglasses, and clutching a steaming cup of tea in his free hand.

“Honestly coz,” he grumbled, “I could hear that all the way in the attic.”

From her seat near the fireplace, Zelda lowered a newspaper to glower at Ambrose. “That was my suggestion,” she explained. “It’s easier to rouse the dead than to wake you after a night out.”

“And she would know,” Hilda quipped from the chair beside her. She sipped her tea while avoiding a sharp look from her sister.

Nick emerged from beneath the tree cradling an armful of gift boxes. He doled out the presents to Ambrose and Sabrina’s aunts then took a seat next to Sabrina on the rug.

He passed her the small silver gift box bound with a matching ribbon and held onto the wide red box from Sabrina. She was almost giddy with anticipation. Nick broke into a smile just looking at her.

“You have to open yours first,” she told him. “Your _first_ Christmas present.” Her face fell. “Oh wow. What if you hate it and your first present ever is a dud.”

Nick laughed. “I’m not going to hate it.”

He shook the box and raised an eyebrow at Sabrina.

“Am I?”

“Just open it,” she said, tapping the box impatiently.

Nick took off the box’s lid and pulled out a wooden frame with a colorful poster inside. It showed Harry Houdini in multiple pairs of handcuffs and leg irons, with the claim “nothing on Earth can hold Houdini a prisoner” printed underneath.

Sabrina knew from Nick’s wide grin and shining eyes that she had picked a winner.

“Pretty cool Spellman,” he said approvingly. “It actually looks antique.”

“And what does that look like?” Sabrina asked, pointing out dark signature on one side of the poster. Nick’s brow furrowed and he studied the mark closely.

“No way,” he said in a hushed tone. He locked eyes with Sabrina. “Is this the real thing?”

“Signed and authenticated,” Sabrina said proudly. “It’s a wonder what you can find on eBay.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Nick laughed, “but I love it.”

He wrapped an arm around Sabrina’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. She grinned and stared at Nick’s beaming face until he cleared his throat.

“Oh right, mine.”

She pulled the ribbon on her gift box and opened it. The lid swung up on a hinge, revealing a star-shaped pendant on a silver chain. Sabrina’s jaw dropped.

She carefully pinched the star and lifted it out of the box for a closer look. Its pentagonal center was made from a gleaming ruby, surrounded by five silver points. She held it up and noticed how sunlight seemed to twinkle inside the gemstone.

“Nick!” she said with a delighted laugh, glancing between him and the pendant. “I don’t know what to say.”

He took hold of the necklace chain and unclasped it. Sabrina pulled back her hair and let him put it on her, while Aunt Hilda craned her neck to get a look at the stone.

“I remember you used to wear that other necklace when we first met,” Nick said. “I guess it reminded you too much of you-know-who.”

Sabrina smiled coyly. “And you wanted me to think of you instead?”

Nick shook his head and held up the star, turning it in his fingers to catch the light.

“I wanted to get something that captured how special _you_ are,” he told Sabrina. “Because your power and your brilliance come from within, just like this.”

Sabrina felt her lips curl up and her cheeks flush. Nick shrugged and looked away bashfully.

“Plus,” he mumbled, “you own a lot of red so I figured it would, y’know, match most of your closet.”

Sabrina chuckled softly and pecked his lips. “It’s perfect.”

“Yes, bravo Nick,” Ambrose said dryly. He was draped across a couch, flipping through the art book Sabrina had picked out for him. “But if you don’t mind there’s still quite a few presents to get through.”

Sabrina shifted to stand up but Nick set a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Let me,” he said. “I mapped everything out on my first trip under there. Besides,” he added with a wink, “I wouldn’t want to mess with tradition.”

Sabrina hugged her knees, smiling to herself as she watched the others enjoying their Christmas gifts. Ambrose was engrossed in his book, Hilda was reading the back cover of her new bodice ripper, and Zelda was straightening the clothes on a cherub-faced porcelain doll.

Salem bounced into Sabrina’s lap with a cheerful meow and she stroked his fur, idly rubbing a thumb over her pendant.

***

“No more,” Nick pleaded, dragging his feet on the foyer floor. “I’ve had enough Christmas for one year.”

“ _One_ more,” Sabrina insisted. “You’ll like this tradition, I promise.”

She pulled Nick along as he shuffled his feet with feigned weariness.

“You’re not going to make it to Christmas dinner at this rate,” she laughed, tugging him by the arm. “And then you have to stay up while Ambrose reads _A Christmas Carol_.”

She glanced at the ceiling, to where a small red and green garland hung over the base of the grand stairway, then stopped when they were just beneath it.

“See that?” she asked, pointing the mistletoe out to Nick.

As he followed Sabrina’s gaze, Nick’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

“Ah,” he laughed. “We have this one at the Academy too.”

“Ohhh.” Sabrina grinned. “So I don’t need to teach you anything?”

She clasped her hands behind Nick’s neck while he took hold of her hips.

“Well I think I have the basics down. But let’s compare notes…”

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far I’d love to hear what you thought!


End file.
